Pete Mctree

Another bold red with tonight’s feast. A bit heavy for lamb - a decent Rioja would be my choice, but a nice potable bottle all the same.

I have found that paying the bit extra, gets me a lot more. I was paying a newly qualified climber , just turned 21, a rate of £145 per day.(good money for Teeside ) In return he worked hard every day without a grumble and earned me some good money Nothing worse than a worker that is being paid less than what they think they are worth.

Only mustard was on the salad dressing, where it belongs

I’m having a nice full bodied red this evening

@Tom D

Ring and email the council every day and politely request that they remove the tree from your property. Contact your local councillor and inform them of the situation. Become the biggest, politest headache they have and see what happens 👍

Used to go to a good few gigs - a few of the highlights are ; AC/DC, U2, the smiths, Nirvarna, Pixies, the Pouges (with and without Kirsty Mc Coll), Pulp, Blur and a few Glastonbury’s 20 or so years ago. I got to see the most awesome Johnny Cash there amongst others.

If you think that the remaining stems pose a threat why not contact the council immediately? They will provide an emergency service either directly or through contractors and should at a minimum assess the situation.

You massively overrate the importance of a rescue climber. Chances are if you have a major arterial bleed and you can’t get to the floor you’re dead! Climb up 40ft and then ask your rescue climber to come & rescue you without warning. Which would be quicker, you bleeding out or them running around the house to get there kit ? I honestly place more importance on a ground guy’s ability to run the ropes well above trying to get themselves up a tree for the first time in months - I have seen bad roping hurt a lot of people….

I agree with a lot of points about the limitations of rescue in reality. I cut myself in 2006 and if I had not self rescued then it would have been a corpse that they retrieved. A major issue I have is the fact that someone, with only a few days climbing under there belt, is allowed to train and qualify in ariel rescue. In reality these people are only useful for box ticking on a risk assessment. If we want a strong trained workforce, we need to change the training structure fundamentally. As an employer training staff, I want to pay nothing, have my staff off work for 10 minutes and they need to be able to climb and dismantle any tree in a day when they have finished. Sounds unreasonable? It’s the truth for most. A simple solution might be to change the training model, to one that requires time in the tree before progressing. The rope access world successfully runs such a model and if we want as an industry to progress and be recognised then we need to change.

I have always avoided sweeteners. They were peddled by the big companies as saving us from the evils of sugar, despite indications years ago that they were toxic. I sincerely hope they pay for that. It will all be insignificant when they admit the damage that micro plastics cause. They have permeated the world and will perhaps be our demise.

In my early 20’s I used to go to Oxfam and buy old dress shirts to work in - they cost about 50p each. I always remember my boss’s face when he saw I had cut the cuffs off a saville row made shirt because the sleeves were too long. Was probably worth a weeks wages ! 🤣

I wear the stein or husky hivis long sleeve shirts. They are affordable and reasonably robust and tick H&S boxes. I wear the size bigger in mid summer as they are a little cooler (& help hide the beer gut.)

I insist on good manners - please and thank you really help when tempers are frayed and the pressure is on.

The 400 seems to be the saw everyone grabs first. I am just using it in the woods for the first time, thinning out some hairy Scots pines. Real joy to run and runs well with an 18" or a 16" - I found a 20" a little off balance and down on power. Nice little saw but really bloody expensive

She’s going to be a big dog Rich. Estimated final weight? A couple of pics of Bear. We lost him recently, but 13 1/2 was a great age for such a big big dog

Engine size in cubic inches (with decimal point) eg 044 is 4.4 cubic inches or about 74cc

Surprised they don’t have 3 stripes down the side 😂

Harvester or grapple saw - hydraulic and much more powerful These the ones developed in Japan with Paul Poynter?

But days slicing and dicing are so much fun… Did manage to squeeze a small loader in 😎

You would be surprised- engines are often restricted with smaller muffler openings for emissions. Dual port mufflers are available from Stihl directly for some markets where emissions are less of an issue

Nice chipper - I have been hunting for one for a while

Not just money - you need a modicum of talent and a boat load of guts and determination

It has it’s own file and is sharpened inside to out like round ground chain

A few quick thoughts; It’s a halfway house between square ground and round ground. Smooth cutting and better on diagonal/cross grain cuts than the round . Bore cutting is fast and controlled. It does need to be super sharp to perform (like square) and hates dirty timber. easy enough to sharpen unless you have really damaged it. Overall it is a good alternative chain for harvesting timber. I still personally prefer square ground for performance, however it gives some of the performance whilst being easy to sharpen.